Month: May 2018

Okay, we’re picking up where we left off with Henry VIII’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon in 1527, so if you haven’t read that post yet, I recommend doing so first. With that, let’s get back into it!

On March 16, 1410, John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset passed away at the Hospital of St Katherine’s near the Tower of London. Half-brother to King Henry IV, he was the eldest son born from the union of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster and his third wife, Katherine Swynford. He left behind a widow, Margaret Holland, Countess of Somerset, and six children who spanned the ages (roughly) of nine to infancy. His parents already deceased, the protection of John’s heirs and the success of the Beaufort name fell to his two younger brothers, Henry and Thomas Beaufort, who had already forged successful careers in the Church and military, respectively, and were deeply enmeshed in the King’s government.

Back in the 1980s the relationship between the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of York kept the tabloids churning – one day they were friends and fellow “outsiders,” while the next they were pitted against one another in an unflattering compare and contrast. Thus far, the media itself hasn’t been so bad on this front with the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex – instead, it’s been from onlookers who usually like or dislike one or the other. The only offshoot of this conversation that has really gathered moss is the idea that Meghan will make Kate look bad because she’s more approachable to media and has a better work ethic.

Yesterday, the Duchess of Cambridge was snapped with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at the Houghton Hall Horse Trials (image courtesy of Ellie Oliver on Twitter) . It’s a good sign that the Cambridges are spending time at Anmer Hall in Norfolk at the moment since George’s school is currently on break.

In March 1688, Queen Mary Beatrice was six months pregnant, raising the possibility that she would produce a Catholic son and heir for her husband, James II. By then, James had sat on the throne for a little over three years, his Catholicism barely tolerated by the majority of his government and the English people on the grounds that his heir was his Protestant daughter, Mary, who was married to the equally Protestant Prince William of Orange.

Worried about what the birth of a prince would mean politically, three Englishmen – Arthur Herbert and William and Edward Russell – traveled to The Hague and proposed to William of Orange that he “invade” England and “rescue” the country from the threat of papacy. On June 10, the Queen delivered a healthy son and on June 30, Herbert again arrived in Holland, this time with the Earls of Devonshire, Danby and Shrewsbury, Richard Lumley, Edward Russell, Henry Sidney and Dr Compton, Bishop of London, to request that William “save” them.

Royal news was dominated this week by the wedding afterglow and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s first engagement as a married couple on Tuesday. Even so, there was actually a good bit activity from other members of the Royal family, so I’ve decided to wrap it up here!

On January 23, 1820 Queen Victoria’s father, the Duke of Kent, died prematurely at the age of 52. He was followed to the grave just six days later by his father, George III, who had been mentally incapacitated for years. At just seven months old, the then-Princess Victoria of Kent became third-in-line to the throne following her uncles, King George IV and Princes Frederick, Duke of York and William, the Duke of Clarence. All three were childless.

Her mother, Victoria of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, found herself at the age of 34 twice-widowed and the mother of three children, one of whom she was responsible for molding into a future British monarch. She herself was German – indeed, at the time of her second husband’s death she had not yet fully mastered the English language.

Just three days after getting married, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex carried out their first engagement. This afternoon they joined the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall for a garden party at Buckingham Palace honoring the Prince’s work with his patronages as part of an elongated celebration of his upcoming 70th birthday.